She beamed up at him. “It is now.”
The lump in his throat caught him by surprise. She was so happy to see him.Him.What had he done to earn that look? That confidence? He didn’t deserve it, that was for certain.
Nova was hugging him again.
And Astrid was smiling at them. There was a sheen in her eyes that made the lump in his throat double in size. What was happening? Where was all this coming from? And what the hell was he supposed to do with it?
“Charlie?” Halley was staring at him, in shock. “Astrid? What are you guys doing here? Ohmygosh. Like, you guys are soaked.”
“I thought I saw headlights.” Camellia Hill was bustling their way, towels hanging from both hands. “Good gracious. You are drenched, aren’t you?” She handed off the towels. “Astrid, go put on some dry clothes before you catch pneumonia.”
Astrid was drying her hair with the towel but there was a puddle forming beneath her feet.
He should have made her change into something warm at his place. If she got sick... He silently cursed himself. He’d been worried about her getting struck by lightning but had no qualms about her getting sick.
“I hope you have dry clothes in that bag, Charles?” Magnolia Hill followed, shaking her head. “I’ll make some hot tea for you both.”
“Go change, too, Charlie.” Nova let him go. “I don’t want you or Astrid to get sick. That’d be bad.”
“Don’t worry, Nova.” Not about him, anyway. Astrid? That was another story. “You should listen to your aunt.” He glanced at Astrid, resisting the urge to reach for her. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Yes, please.” Nova nodded. “No knee-money-uh.”
“Pneumonia,” Halley murmured.
“’Xactly.” Nova nodded again.
“You heard them.” Magnolia nodded. “Now, scoot.” She waved Astrid toward the stairs before heading into the kitchen. “You, too, Charles.”
“Yeah, Charlie. You, too.” Nova pointed at the stairs.
“Yes, ma’am.” He forced himself to smile down at her. “Scorpio is inside the bag.”
Nova let go of him, dropped to her knees and unzipped the bag. With a squeal, she pulled the toy free and hugged it against her chest. “Scorpio!”
“There.” Camellia crouched beside Nova. “All better. You’ve got your Charlie and your Scorpio.” Camellia regarded him with affection.
That damn lump in his throat was three times the size now.
“Charlie.” Even Halley was looking at him with something other than frustration. “You should go change.”
“There’s a bathroom at the top of the stairs on the right. A shower, too, if you’d like.” Camellia stood. “Come on, girls. Let’s get a nice warm snack ready for them.”
“Okay.” Nova, holding one of Scorpio’s hands, dashed down the hall without a backward glance.
Camellia followed, chuckling.
“It’s cool,” Halley said, shrugging. “You coming here. For Nova, I mean.”
He nodded, wishing he knew what to say to her.
“She was worried about you.” Halley broke off. “We both were.” She spun and walked rapidly down the hall to the kitchen.
He stared after her, reeling. Halley had made it perfectly clear how she felt about him. And none of it was good. She was worried about him?
“You coming?” Astrid called down from the top of the stairs.
He grabbed the bag and took the stairs, two at a time, until he was at the top. It took effort, but he didn’t reach for her. “You didn’t change.” He stepped closer, frowning down at her.
